The purpose of this Phase I project is to develop a prototype for a PC- based Profiling Tool for the evaluation of long-term care providers including nursing homes and home health care agencies. To date, an automated Long-Term Care Provider Profiling Tool does not exist although such tools are used extensively in acute care. The major aim of the proposed Profiling Tool is to enable managed care organizations (HMOs), hospitals, the state, and insures to evaluate the efficiency and effectiveness of long-term care providers. The Tool will provide aggregate profiling information of patterns of service use, costs, and measures, related to the effectiveness or quality of service. It would enable comparisons across providers on key parameters; provide national "bench marks" on selected profiling characteristic, and HMOs to have an informed basis on which to develop long term care preferred provider organizations (PPOs) or integrate acute and long-term care network. As movement toward greater integration of acute and long-term care service continues, the need for a profiling tool to evaluate, monitor and compare long-term care providers on key utilization, cost and effectiveness measures will increase. Proposed Commercial Applications By providing an automated Long-Term Provider Profiling managed care organizations (HMOs), hospitals, the state, and insurers to evaluate the efficiency and effectiveness of long-term care providers. The Tool will provide aggregate profiling information on patterns of service use, costs, and measure related to the effectiveness or quality of service; will provide national "benchmarks" on selected profiling characteristic; will contribute to the development of local provider organizations (PPOs) or integrated acute and long-term care networks.